Time marched on, and it had been more than two months since Gu Xie sat down for that impromptu gathering involving a brazier glowing with hot iron.

For three months, the Earth Federation and the Roman Kingdom had clashed fiercely on Heaven Star. Both sides avoided large-scale fleet engagements near the wormholes, instead pouring every resource into deploying massive ground forces onto the planet, where over ten million troops fought tooth and nail in a scorching, intense war.

After three months of constant battle, the Earth Federation had lost over five hundred thousand soldiers. In contrast, the Roman Kingdom, thanks to their superior energy armor and formidable individual strength, had suffered the loss of fewer than forty thousand men. Enraged, the command center for the Earth Federation's Heaven Star Expeditionary Force threw vast numbers of Innate Warriors and Espers onto the battlefield, prompting the Romans to also deploy ever more high-level fighters. However, both sides’ top-tier forces exercised extreme caution, deliberately avoiding direct, head-on clashes with the opposing elites. The direct consequence was that the losses among the common soldiers on both sides became increasingly catastrophic.

The relatively weaker common soldiers of the Earth Federation suffered not only casualties but also over a million wounded and disabled, placing immense pressure on the Federation’s logistics and propaganda departments.

The constant stream of transport ships returning to Earth carrying the ashes of fallen soldiers only deepened the public's ominous forebodings regarding the war's future prospects.

Public opinion was in an uproar; the entire Federation demanded to know the military's actual probability of defeating the Roman Kingdom and securing Heaven Star. Should someone be held accountable for the half-million dead soldiers?

Somewhere beneath Copenhagen, within a clandestine facility, the area was crowded with fully armed soldiers from the Hardwire Corporation, clad in their bronze-colored uniforms.

In these three months, the Hardwire Corporation had undergone a radical transformation; everything was vastly different from before. Three months prior, although every mercenary in Hardwire was fearless in the face of death, the majority of their personnel were villains and scoundrels purchased from the Federation’s maximum-security prisons. But now, half of Hardwire's soldiers were rehired retired veterans from the Federation Army. These former soldiers, possessing extremely high combat proficiency and strict discipline, had dramatically elevated the overall strength of the Hardwire Corporation.

At the edge of the lowest-level testing ground within the facility, the door of an elevator hissed open, and Gu Xiechen, the Bearded Commander, and others stepped out.

Bill Rocks, dressed in a white uniform, rushed forward with exaggerated enthusiasm. Even from a distance, he began shouting excitedly, “Boss! My dearest Boss! Look what Old Bill has brought you! Oh my god, I love you all, I absolutely adore you! This is a masterpiece, an unprecedented masterpiece!”

“Bill! Bill! Bill!” Gu Xiechen spread his arms to welcome Bill Rocks, repeating his name over and over. “Dear Bill, lovely Uncle Bill, what wonderful news have you brought us? Oh whoa, don't keep us in suspense! Can’t you see Uncle Beard’s mouth is practically watering?”

The Bearded Commander, playing along perfectly, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and bellowed menacingly at Bill Rocks, his eyes wide, “Hurry up and let us see the treasure, or I’ll bite you!”

Bill Rocks laughed heartily and embraced Gu Xiechen, then enthusiastically hugged the Bearded Commander. He sequentially embraced Peng Hua, Siren, Brahma, Mo He, and the other company executives. Finally, laughing, he moved to embrace Aredia, but he was abruptly seized by the neck by Siren, lifted into the air, and tossed into Gu Xiechen’s arms.

“Not very nice!” Bill Rocks shot Siren a glare.

“This girl is mine! My parents have approved our marriage! As soon as I achieve mastery in my virgin arts, we'll wed!” Siren declared self-righteously toward Bill Rocks.

“Hmph, I have my own lovely wife too; I won’t be envious of you,” Bill Rocks made a face at Siren before seizing Gu Xiechen’s hand again.

A large contingent of Hardwire Corporation research personnel, all in white uniforms, approached from all directions, lining up neatly beside the testing area. Everyone beamed as they watched Gu Xiechen and the Bearded Commander. Seventy percent of them were former subordinates from Gu Xie’s time at the Gu Group, while the other thirty percent were support staff sent by the Asian Dao Alliance.

Bill Rocks gave a reserved nod to all the researchers, and the assembled group broke into simultaneous applause and cheers.

Bill Rocks stood straight, full of energy, and called out excitedly, “Well then, let our two bosses, who generously funded our massive research expenditures, see our achievements! We scientists must live up to our consciences; we spent tens of billions in funding, and we must produce results! Come on, raise the shield and let our darling make its public debut!”

Gu Xiechen looked toward the testing area with keen excitement. Sixteen ultra-large battleship shield generators positioned at the four corners—north, south, east, and west—activated simultaneously. The massive energy input caused the lights within the testing arena to dim abruptly. A blue energy shield, nearly a meter thick, enveloped the entire area. The testing ground, spanning three hundred meters in length and width, suddenly began to vibrate.

A section of the heavy alloy floor slid open, and a humanoid machine, approximately three meters thirty centimeters tall, slowly ascended onto the platform.

“Boss, Bearded Commander, this is our latest triumph: Hercules One,” Bill Rocks proudly gestured toward the entirely black humanoid machine.

Gu Xiechen’s eyes lit up. The Bearded Commander stomped his feet excitedly. Siren and the others cautiously clustered outside the containment shield, staring unblinkingly at the mechanism.

The surface of the pitch-black Hercules One was finished with a matte texture, absorbing all light without a hint of reflection. Its tall frame exuded a heavy sense of deterrence, and its streamlined contours were filled with an aura of lethal intent. It stood motionless, like a legendary deity—majestic yet utterly powerful.

A one-hundred-and-twenty-millimeter electromagnetic cannon rose from beneath the floor, its muzzle glowing with a faint blue light, aimed directly at Hercules One, one hundred meters away.

At Bill Rocks’ command, a depleted uranium armor-piercing round, trailing a billowing electromagnetic flame, roared from the muzzle, hurtling toward Hercules One at a velocity exceeding Mach 10.

A blue light screen, almost a foot thick, flashed across Hercules One’s surface. The projectile struck the energy shield, causing Hercules One to recoil backward repeatedly. With a deafening clang and roar, Hercules One retreated several dozen meters before planting its feet firmly back in place. The kinetic energy of the depleted uranium penetrator was entirely expended, and with a soft clatter, the spent round fell to the ground.

“Its impact resistance is quite impressive!” Gu Xiechen’s eyes shone brightly. A 120mm depleted uranium round, fired from an electromagnetic cannon at ten times the speed of sound, was capable of piercing the Federation’s current heavy armored vehicles. Yet, Hercules One sustained absolutely no visible damage from the attack; its energy shield merely weakened by approximately fifteen percent.

The electromagnetic cannon retracted underground. An alloy lock rose from the floor—

To talk of money would be far too vulgar.

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